textile

American  

[teks-tahyl, -til] / ˈtɛks taɪl, -tɪl /

noun

• textiles
  plural

1. any cloth or goods produced by weaving, knitting, or felting.

2. a material, as a fiber or yarn, used in or suitable for weaving.

   Glass can be used as a textile.

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adjective

1. woven or capable of being woven.

   textile fabrics.

2. of or relating to weaving.

3. of or relating to textiles or the production of textiles.

   the textile industry.

textile British  

/ ˈtɛkstaɪl /

noun

1. any fabric or cloth, esp woven

2. raw material suitable to be made into cloth; fibre or yarn

3. a non-nudist, as described by nudists; one who wears clothes

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adjective

1. of or relating to fabrics or the making of fabrics

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• textiles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of textile

1520–30; < Latin textilis woven, textile (noun use of neuter) woven fabric, equivalent to text ( us ), past participle of texere to weave + -ilis, -ile -ile

Explanation

A textile is something made by knitting, weaving, or crocheting fibers together. A textile is a cloth. You’re probably wearing a textile right now! Textile comes from the Latin word, textilis for "woven fabric” and that's exactly what it is. If you’re in the textile business, you’re dealing with the stuff that gets turned into clothes, flags, dishrags, or anything else made of cloth. If you knit a scarf, you create a hand-made textile — although the word is more often used in art or industry, as in textile design or textile imports.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

textile textiles

While studying management to help his family's textile business, he attended an aviation seminar and caught what he later called the "aviation bug".

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

In each workshop, Ingold encourages students to use discarded textile material to make art.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

As research continues to evolve, so do chemical formulations and testing protocols across the textile supply chain, says Mary Ankeny, head of product development at Cotton Inc., which represents the U.S. cotton industry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

Crews were also called to a blaze there in July 2025 and there was a major fire that destroyed a significant part of the former textile mill in 2022.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

I thought of my dorm room—of the murky walls and frigid tiles, but also of the sunflowers Drew had sent, and of the textile wall hanging a friend from Zimbabwe had brought from his village.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

This year's patron, knitwear designer Helen Robertson, said: "I think wool week is just such a fantastic organisation and festival, and it's really brought Shetland textiles to life."

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Ali likes to use expansive spaces and incorporate fabrics and textiles, whether it’s a red, sequin-covered chador or a tubular-looking worm made out of polyester, Lycra and spandex.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

While AI plays might be back in vogue, utilities have struggled, as have consumer discretionary stocks, including names tied to automobile components, textiles and luxury goods, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

Beyond his exploits in Sao Paulo's financial hub Faria Lima, high-flying Vorcaro invested in real estate, pharmaceuticals, textiles and even soccer.

From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026

“Mum's got a fabulous eye,” Julia told Dad, “for colors and textiles and stuff. And she's great with people. She'll charm them into buying anything.”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Related Words

• cloth
• fiber
• goods
• yarn